IPAC/York U event examines causes of income inequality

TORONTO, June 10, 2014 – Income inequality affects us all, and the gap between the very wealthy and everyone else is currently on the rise throughout North America and Europe. On June 16, 2014, Income Inequality: Where Economics and Social Justice Collide, co-sponsored by The Institute of Public Administration of Canada and the Institute for Social Research at York University, will seek to examine some of the causes and concerns of our existing economic landscape.

Topics of discussion:

Is income inequality the historical norm or is it something that comes and goes, driven by events and changing economic trends such as globalization? Is it an inherent outcome of free market capitalism? What is inevitable and what can be changed?

Is the problem income inequality, poverty – or both? What measures/indicators do we use and are they measuring what we think they are?

Can public policy narrow the inequality gap? What are the best levers?

Can one country act effectively or must there be coordinated action?

Do Canadians care about income inequality, or is it, as some have argued, an academic preoccupation?

Featuring:

Sheila Block, Director, Economic Analysis, Wellesley Institute

Lesley Jacobs, Professor of Law and Society/Political Science, Director, Institute for Social Research, York University

Brian Murphy, Chief, Statistics Canada Income Research

Moderated by: Doug Cudmore, Business Editor, Toronto Star

This event is the first of a three-part series titled Checking in on Capitalism. Session two, Capitalism and Good Jobs, and session three, Public Service in an Era of Constrained Growth, are upcoming in the fall of 2014.

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